MAUMELLE, Ark. — The City of Maumelle saw inches of rain during overnight flash flooding Thursday as residents woke up to damage and water inside their cars.
"We had taken cover because we were in a tornado warning, and I started hearing the car alarms go off and horns start blowing," Maumelle resident Sharon Belin said.
At the Windsor Park and The Timbers apartments in Maumelle, signs everywhere show Thursday night's flash flooding.
Belin was cautious during the severe weather event and didn't find out how bad the storms were until Friday morning.
"I was shocked because I had never seen it and didn't know what it looked like until I got on social media," Belin said. "When I woke up, I came outside around 6:30 a.m. to check my car and called the insurance company instantly."
Belin and many more of her neighbors found deep puddles of water inside their cars.
“There's water in my car, and my daughter's motor has a lot of debris inside,” Belin said.
Management at the Windsor Park apartments said the water got waist-deep. Still, the staff is not reporting any injuries or displacements, as the team thanks the Maumelle Fire Department.
“We took boats to both the Timbers and Windsor Park apartments, and we tried to prioritize the people who needed to get out,” Maumelle Fire Department Division Chief Michael Cossey said.
Cossey said the on-duty firefighters recused 14 people at the Timbers and 15 at Windsor Park.
“We moved a lot of people that otherwise would have been stuck in those places,” Cossey said. “It was a success story last night.”
The Maumelle Fire Department also received calls for lightning strikes, which caused gas leaks and fire alarms to go off.
Sharon and her car: While it’s unfortunate to wake up to see damage to cars and apartments, she's thankful for what's still around.
"We don't know if it's going to be a total loss or what," Belin said. "We're just thankful I had the coverage because we can at least try to get another car, but you can't get another life."
The Maumelle Fire Department wasn't immune to the storms that rolled in either.
After rescuing throughout the city, they returned to roof leaks that Cossey said are undergoing repairs now.